


Shore leave. Always an adventure.

by themoonowl



Series: A Real Hero [30]
Category: Mass Effect Trilogy
Genre: Art Theft, Awkward Garrus Vakarian, Bisexuality, Colonist (Mass Effect), Cooking, Domestic Fluff, Double Date, F/F, F/M, Fluff, Gen, Hangover, Kaidan's Birthday, Love Confessions, M/M, Martial Arts, Mass Effect 3: Citadel, Museums, SAM Squared, Shore Leave, a bit spicy in places, piquant if you will
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-16
Updated: 2020-12-23
Packaged: 2021-03-10 01:14:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 9,739
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27995853
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/themoonowl/pseuds/themoonowl
Summary: Shore leave, babey! What kind of hijinks will Samed and his crew find themselves in? What relationships will develop? More questions about the tags? Find all of that out in this compilation of snippets set in the two weeks of shore leave from the Citadel DLC!
Relationships: Brynn Cole/Jacob Taylor (mention), Chloe Michel/Garrus Vakarian, EDI/Jeff "Joker" Moreau, Kaidan Alenko & EDI, Kaidan Alenko & Garrus Vakarian, Kaidan Alenko & Original Character(s), Kaidan Alenko & Tali'Zorah nar Rayya, Kaidan Alenko/Male Shepard, Liara T'Soni & Kasumi Goto, Male Shepard & Garrus Vakarian, Male Shepard & Jacob Taylor, Male Shepard & James Vega, Male Shepard & Kasumi Goto, Male Shepard & Liara T'Soni, Male Shepard & Original Character(s), Male Shepard & Samantha Traynor, Samantha Traynor & Tali'Zorah nar Rayya, Samantha Traynor/Tali'Zorah nar Rayya
Series: A Real Hero [30]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1429021
Comments: 42
Kudos: 8





	1. Lovely day

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> First day of proper shore leave.

Acid-wash jeans and a jacket to match. Both cuffed—it just sort of felt right. A nice white graphic tee and some white sneakers too and Kaidan was officially looking  _ fine. _

It sure felt good to be out of the uniform and into something a bit more his style—even if all of his old clothes were probably completely destroyed back on Earth. It didn't matter. Living light, turning over a new page. Yeah.

All he needed now was his guy's hand in his and off to a date night it was. A date night out of hopefully many while the Normandy was getting repaired in the next two weeks. Samed was such a tidy guy, it sure was a bit weird how his clone messed up the place, big time.

Finally he showed up, the man of the hour. Tight dark jeans that outlined his long legs in the best of ways, that N7 jacket he wore and fought in four days ago—and looked good doing it. That was his man, his guy right there, overloading the wires in his heart every time.

"Hey," Samed said with that shy smile of his as he walked down the stairs. "Sorry I kept you waiting, I wanted to try one of your hair gels. What do you think?" Samed's brows raised under curls that looked a lot more defined and neat now. The occasional strand still broke formation, but that just made it all the more perfect.

"I think." Kaidan wrapped his arms around Samed's waist, and a smile crinkled the edge of his guy's full lips. "I'll have the hottest date there."

"Uh-huh." Samed narrowed his eyes, that smirk still on his face.

Kaidan chucked, "What? Everyone's gonna be jealous of me.  _ What ever shall I do." _

Samed gently pushed away Kaidan's face, getting a laugh out of both of them. "Save it for our date, Alenko.  _ And some for later, too," _ he said with half a whisper and quickly raised a brow, that smirk on his face turning into a grin.

A kiss and making sure the door to Anderson's apartment was locked, Samed's long fingers intertwined with his as they walked out of the building. Just two guys out for a night on the town—or well, the Citadel—looking sharp.

* * *

The smell of something cooking made Samed's nose twitch and his eyes open. He stretched away the stiffness of sleep and turned over, reaching an arm out for Kaidan—only to be greeted by an empty bed. Weird. Kaidan never got up before he did. Samed stood up, scrambled for a shirt in the pile of clothes on the chair and lifted up one of Kaidan's. It even had his citrus-scented cologne from the night before lingering on the fabric. Perfect.

He walked down the stairs, the smell of cooking intensifying, accompanied by the sound of crackling oil. Then he saw him: Kaidan in the kitchen in only an apron and his boxers, two frying pans on the stove. Samed bit his lower lip at the sight, barely containing the grin on his face. A few silent steps later, and he wrapped his arms around Kaidan, resting his head on his shoulder. "What's all this?"

"Said I'd cook for you while we're on shore leave, remember?" Kaidan turned and stuck his lips out for a kiss—which he got. "That, and I got hungry. You, uh, heh. You kinda wore me out last night."

Samed smirked and kissed him on the cheek. "Not sorry, Major."

"Hey. Not sorry either. Besides, I've been thinking and," Kaidan's voice turned low and husky, making the hairs on Samed's arms stand up. "I know exactly how to return the favor." He turned around and winked.

"Not doubting that for a second." Samed began trailing feather-light kisses down Kaidan's neck. Kisses that were interrupted by the loud, God-awful grumbling of Samed's stomach. "Soo," He cleared his throat and went back to just resting his head on Kaidan's shoulder. "What's cooking, good looking?"

Kaidan snorted. "Ha! Well let's see, we have some bread in the toaster, some eggs with all the veggies—and some mushrooms—I could find in the fridge and some back bacon for me, to go with the eggs. Don't worry, I know—I'm cooking the bacon separately."

"Mmm. You really are the best. I love you."

Samed's heart stopped in his chest. Everything went silent, even the crackling of oil in the pans was no more.

Love. It had been there ever since…well, Samed couldn't put a timestamp on it. It had always been there, in its own way.

The real question was:  _ did I say this too soon? _ They’ve been officially dating for what, three months? And it wasn’t like he had a good frame of reference about these things. He'd had only one other relationship in his adult life before Kaidan, and that one was about...six years ago. Almost a decade. It wasn't like he remembered how the beginning stuff worked.

After what felt like an eternity, but was probably only a second, Kaidan turned, his chapped lips in a warm, dimpled smile, a sparkle in his amber eyes and a small melodic chuckle in his voice before he said, "Love you too."

Warmth pulsed through Samed's heart, chest, his whole body. He punched a kiss to Kaidan's flushed cheeks, one more extra tight hug— "Gonna make you some coffee," he whispered—before he turned around to the other stove.

Their first day together on shore leave. It was already turning out to be a great one.


	2. More light

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Samed visits someone he should've visited a long time ago.

"Now arriving at Docking Bay E24. Emergency civilian housing." Avina's voice said over the comms, and Samed squeezed Kaidan's hand. The elevator doors opened to the overwhelming stale-air smell of disinfectant and medigel; a smell that made Samed's heart sink to his stomach every time he came down here—and today was not an exception.

Ever since he'd heard that the whole colony of Mindoir had been evacuated, he'd been keeping an eye on the eight hundred or so residents of New Spring: talking with Bailey and making sure they were well-cared for, coordinating food and protection through Liara's Shadow Broker network, and even providing housing after Cerberus's coup attempt. Housing they had apparently refused every time it had been offered to them, according to Liara.

 _They are probably mad at me,_ he'd told Kaidan. There had been a whole funeral on Mindoir, Kaidan had said, everyone's face there sad and broken. Putting everyone through that…

 _They aren't,_ Kaidan had replied then. Now he just squeezed his hand, a look in his eyes that said the same thing as back then: _They probably miss you, a lot. I know I did._

They stopped before the second checkpoint, Samed frowning at Kaidan, wordlessly asking the same question he had been asking the entire morning: _Are you sure they'll be okay with me visiting?_

"Alright." Kaidan sighed and put both of his palms on Samed's neck, cupping his jaw. "Let me ask you this. Do you miss them?"

 _God, more than anything._ Samed nodded a yes, the words stuck in his throat.

"Then they miss you too. Trust me on this. Sure, I was kinda angry at you when I first saw you back there on Horizon, but." He sighed. "You have no idea how much I wanted to see you again after that. How much I wanted—I don't know. Things between us to be back the way they used to be."

Samed managed a faint smile and wrapped his arms around Kaidan's waist, Kaidan tightly returning the hug.

"I know you're gonna do great," Kaidan whispered in his ear. "And. I love you."

Only a day had passed since they'd said it to each other, and already it felt so natural to say. "I love you too."

From what he'd heard from Liara, Orna Elyassi had become kind of the leader of the whole New Spring group. Just like after that slaver attack sixteen years ago, when she had become everyone's mother, grandmother, guardian; feeding the hungry, helping the kids there that had lost their parents, kids like him, making sure life on Mindoir kept going in spite of it all.

It wasn't any different here either. Already she had taken up residence in the first prefabs in the district, right between the makeshift hospital and the kitchen, making sure she was the first person one would speak to when entering the place.

Samed knocked on the door. It slid open to an old face he knew, even more wrinkles than before on her dark olive face. 

"Hey. Auntie Orna. I—"

A smack on the side of his head interrupted that sentence. "You!" Another smack on his other side. "Do you know how worried sick I have been?" Orna tugged on his ear before releasing him and hanging her head in her hands. "I told those officers I didn't want an apartment, I didn't want protection, I didn't want anything! I just wanted to see my boy, not just hear about his heroics on the news!"

"You. You're not mad that I was gone for two years?"

"Oh, Samed." She cupped his face. "Samed, Samed, Samed. You are alive, boy! I am so happy you're here, flesh and bones and everything!"

Kaidan nudged him on the shoulder, an unspoken _Told ya._

Orna pulled him into a hug, one which he warmly returned.

"And who is this fine young man?" she asked, raising a brow, and making Kaidan visibly and amusingly flushed.

"That's Kaidan, my—"

"Wait. I remember you! You were at his funeral, looking like you've been run over by a truck!"

Kaidan scratched the back of his neck, awkwardly chuckling, but a wave of sadness couldn't help but creep into Samed's chest at the thought.

"He's my boyfriend, Auntie." Orna hid her gaping, grinning mouth with her palm, while Kaidan's cheeks darkened even further. "I love him," Samed proudly said, grabbed Kaidan's hand and squeezed.

"Oh, romance blossoming amidst tragedy! Oh! That reminds me, Ghassan and Irma?" She moved closer and whispered, "She is pregnant, you know. Two months! Ha!"

"Wait. They finally got married?" A big smile drew on Samed's face. "And two months, so that means…"

"Ohoho, don't even speak of it! What's worse is they aren't the only ones here! There's this nice couple from the turian camp that—akh, you know what? Where are my manners, come, come, both of you, I'll tell you all about it over coffee! You will not _believe_ the gossip I have collected all these years."

*******

"Are you sure, Auntie Orna? The apartment district in Zakera is a lot safer—"

"Samed." She put both hands on his shoulders. "If you help us, you need to help everyone here. Besides, we don't want apartments, we already got homes, _our_ homes. On Mindoir! You will kick those creepers—"

"It's Reapers, actually," Kaidan corrected, but Orna just dismissed him with a wave of her palm.

"Eh, reapers, shreapers, they suck no matter what they're called."

Kaidan pursed his lips in thought, raised his brows and nodded his head in a silent _she's right_ , while Samed held in a snort.

"All I know is, Samed will kick those ugly creepers back to the black hole they came out of and we will be back there in no time!"

Samed frowned. _What if I don't,_ those words he left unspoken. Instead he said, "I just want you to be comfortable in the meantime, Auntie."

"Ah, comfort. We take what we can get, Samed. But we don't want special treatment. The people here, we are all together, like I said. You want to make us comfortable, make all of us comfortable."

"She has a point, you know," Kaidan added. "Besides, I'm a Spectre now too. We could both pull some strings to get the Council to spring for better living conditions for the refugees."

"I guess you're right." Just as he said that, another decommissioned Alliance cruiser passed by the docking area outside, and so did a thought through his mind. "I may have some ideas about expanding the emergency housing area. Maybe even making it safer, too."

"See? There's Hadia and Isam's smart boy!" Orna pulled his face and kissed both of his cheeks. Then pulled Kaidan and did the same. "Now you two take care of each other, okay? And visit! Ah, how I missed these talks with you, my dear."

Samed leaned down and gave her a tight hug. "I missed them too, Auntie Orna. And I'm here for two weeks this time, I'll come by every single day."

She grinned and brushed his shoulders. "That's what I like to hear."


	3. Judo

Kaidan unlocked and opened the door to Anderson’s apartment. He was taking off his jacket when _—a loud crash._ It came from somewhere on the first floor, near the first bedroom. He bolted in that direction, but when he got to the door, his jaw dropped at the image: Samed was holding Vega down, both of them barefoot and in white robes. “Hey, what the hell?”

“Commander’s just teaching me some judo moves,” Vega groaned from under Samed and tapped him twice on the back.

Samed stood up, dusted himself off and walked up to Kaidan, giving him a small peck on the lips. “Hey. Had fun with Garrus?”

“I don’t know if you’d call Garrus kicking my ass, getting top score at all of the targets and winning a medal fun, but. Yeah. Had fun."

"You brought that on yourself, amigo. Never go toe to toe with Garrus. Can't get a better sharpshooter than him."

"Yeah. Guess I learned that lesson. But, what the hell you two? Where did you get the robes?"

"It's called a  _ gi," _ Samed interrupted.

"Yeah, that. I didn't think you had a gi!"

"I don't, actually. The last one I had is somewhere in that apartment in Vancouver where they kept me. This one's Anderson's. And that one's Kahlee's." Samed pointed a thumb at Vega.

"Kahlee's?"

Vega tilted his head both ways, cracking his neck. "Yep! Gotta say, a woman with shoulders as broad as mine? And kicks ass?" He whistled. "Anderson sure has taste."

Kaidan chuckled and very slightly nodded, an unspoken agreement on his part.

"So what do you say, Loco? Round two?"

Samed cracked his knuckles. "You're on!" 

Kaidan sighed. "Just be careful, you two." He started to walk out, but turned around just as both of them were in their stances. "And Vega." James looked up at Kaidan. "If something happens to Samed, you're getting a taste of my biotics."

"Relax, Kaidan. I've taken on bigger guys than Vega in college."

_ Well that just sounds wrong, _ Kaidan thought, raised his brows and blinked.

"Besides, it's only educational. Right, Loco?"

Samed nodded. "Right."

"Alright, fine. Have fun, then." Kaidan walked out and proceeded to mutter to himself,  _ "The safe kind of fun." _

Another crash echoed behind him, with Vega going, "Ow, my back," and Samed continuing, "This is why we should've started with falling exercises first. You may be big, but any experienced judoka is gonna kick your ass. Easily."

Kaidan smiled to himself and shook his head.


	4. Opine & Dine

“So.” Joker drew out the O. “Double. Date. This isn’t awkward.”

Samed awkwardly smiled while Kaidan took the menu in his hands.

“It is a common social practice to attend a restaurant together with another romantically-involved couple. One definition of ‘awkward’ is when one such practice is going against established social norms. So your assumption is correct, Jeff. It is not ‘awkward’.”

Joker sighed.

“Well I don’t know about you guys,” Kaidan said, his eyes still on the menu. “But this was a great idea. Just the four of us going out for a bite.”

“Uh, yeah, but only one of us doesn’t actually need food to stay alive. No offense, EDI.”

“I do not see how that would offend me, Jeff. I do not require food or any kind of sustenance. I will be unstoppable in the event of an AI uprising.” EDI’s deadpan delivery made both Samed and Kaidan awkwardly laugh while Joker scrunched his eyebrows and thinned his lips. “That was a joke.”

“I have an idea." Kaidan put down the datapad. "Why don’t we get extra stuff for us, and EDI can order that, saying it’s for her?”

Samed raised his brows at Kaidan and then turned over to Joker looking equally as baffled.

“I think you got that backwards, man. If EDI orders for herself,  _ that _ will look suspicious. Not the other way around. I present her as my 'mobility assistance mech', remember?”

“Oh. My bad. Sorry EDI.”

“I am not offended." EDI actually smiled. "Quite the opposite. You see me as a person where most other organics see me as nothing more than an AI. I appreciate the gesture.”

"That's because you are a person. Sure, some days it's kinda hard to look at you after your body smashed my head on the side of a shuttle, but it's all good. Me and you—we're cool."

"You could pretend that was her—" Joker lifted his arms up and wiggled his fingers.  _ "—evil twin sister." _

"I disagree. The more accurate analogy would be that of an alter ego, one which my current ego has 'kicked its ass and taken its name'."

"Alright," Kaidan pointed to the menu. "As much as I enjoy all of this, can we save the philosophy talk until _after_ we've ordered?"


	5. Garrus Vakarian: Ladies' man?

Samed opened the door and Garrus barged in.  "Nice to see you too, Garrus."

"This might sound a bit crazy, but I have a date."

"Great? Who's the lucky woman?"

"Do you remember Doctor Michel? The one we saved from Fist's men three years ago?"

And the one who gave Garrus some dextro chocolate, Samed thought and smiled to himself. It all made sense now. "Yeah. I remember her."

"Well, um, she _might _have asked me out yesterday and we _might_ be meeting for drinks in about an hour."__

____

"Wait, an hour!? Why are you here, then?"

____

"Let's just say I haven't been on dates much. Even less with—well, there's no better way to say this—'human women'. I figured I could use some advice."

____

Samed bit the inside of his mouth to stop himself from laughing. "I think you've come to the wrong human for that, Garrus."

____

Kaidan walked out from the first floor bedroom-slash-gym all sweaty, just in time to prove that particular point. "Hey Garrus. What brings you here?"

____

"He has a date with Doctor Michel."

____

"Huh." Kaidan nodded. "I can see it. Good for you." He tapped Garrus on the shoulder and went to the kitchen.

____

"Well," Garrus's mandibles twitched. "Who would be the right human for the job, then?" He started to twiddle his fingers.

____

Samed crossed his arms and stuck his lips to the side. "Ideally, Sam. But she's currently visiting her folks, so she's off the table." Kaidan passed by, taking a sip of water from his bottle. "How about Kaidan?"

____

"What's this about me?"

____

"Garrus needs some tips on 'human women'. And since you’re bi…"

____

Kaidan looked up at Garrus, then back at Samed with wide eyes. Then back to Garrus. And back to Samed again and sighed. "Okay, but this feels a bit weird to talk about in front of, you know. You? My boyfriend?"

____

Samed grinned, raised his arms and started walking backwards to the other part of the living room. But not before overhearing, "Okay, so first of all, you can't go on a date in your armor. There are women who are into that, I know, but…”

____


	6. The Fisher's Companion

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A museum tour turns grand theft art-o.
> 
> Bit of an outlying longer chapter, this one.

Samed stood in front of the Citadel Museum of Art, his suit's collar still tight and suffocating around his neck, no matter how much he’d fiddled with the buttonholes. 

The night was to be a friendly museum stroll with Liara.  _ I very much enjoyed going to art galleries and museums with my mother come winter on Thessia, _ she'd said,  _ and it is currently that time of year on the planet. Huh. I believe I may be feeling a little nostalgic for home, especially now, in times like these. _

From the plaque that had a preview of that night's exhibition—its theme being 'The Beauty of Earth, a fundraiser to provide aid for humanity'—that feeling of nostalgia wound its way to Samed's chest too. Even if Earth wasn't where he was from.

Perhaps it was the jist of it? He too went to art galleries with his own Maama, though those were usually about her own paintings, most of which he and Baaba had already seen, as she would hang them in their house first.

"Shepard," Liara walked up in a black cocktail dress, looking equally as dazzled up as him. "I hope you did not wait long."

"You're just in time, T'Soni."

Liara showed their passes to the doorman and they were in.

Both of them grabbed a glass of Thessia Red that was offered by one of the caterers and started to saunter leisurely through the art-littered halls, trying to guess the time period in which the paintings were made, judging by their style. It soon became a game—whoever had the most correct or closest guesses of the evening won. The prize to be decided later.

The paintings were diverse, they captured every inch of Earth—everything from white mountains and green forests, through ochre deserts and yellow steppes, to cityscapes, small towns, and villages. Some places he even recognized: the sunrise from Rio's beaches,  _ La Ville Rose _ herself, Vancouver's sunset-lit outline of tall, glassy buildings, until—

A scene stood before him, one he hadn't seen in more than twenty years.

A fisherman and a cat sat on a pier, in front of them: tall, cream-colored buildings and the minarets of a big mosque, stretching behind a long row of palm trees, a brilliant blue sky above. Below the text read:

_ “‘The Fisher’s Companion’, painted by the late Hadia Ghazzawi, this painting captures the beauty of Gaza City through the eyes of a fisherman and their hungry cat. Year: 2150.” _

He stood frozen as Liara only said, quiet sadness in her voice, “This is the real reason I wanted you to come here tonight, Shepard. One of my search filters retrieved this very exhibition. I was wondering why it was linked to your name, until I did some more digging. Hadia Ghazzawi—” and Liara managed to pronounce her last name correctly, "—was your mother."

"She was," he answered in a whispery chuckle. It was her work. Even her signature at the bottom. The same painting that hung in their dining room back home. And for a moment—for a moment he was a kid again, imagining that he was on that pier, splashing his feet in the water, a cat almost as big as him under his arm, salty air in his lungs. Tears clouded his vision. "Haven't seen this one in a long time."

“You know, I can steal this for you if you want.” Kasumi appeared out of thin air in his peripheral vision. “It would be child’s play. Just say the word.”

“Ah, Ms. Goto. It is nice seeing you again,” Liara said calmly. 

“Nice to see you too, Ms. T'Soni. Or should I say, Ms. Shadowbroker?"

“I know the previous Shadowbroker worked with Keiji, your former lover. I am grateful that mess was cleaned up. Revealing that information would have been catastrophic.”

The two of them kept talking, but Samed wasn’t listening. He was back in their dining room, his chest heavy with a feeling of home, his whole family gathering for lunch as his gaze kept drifting to that painting while he ate.

"Bah," a reverberating voice broke him off from his thoughts. "The composition in this is horrendous." A turian was standing beside him, dressed in a red velvet suit, holding a glass of wine. Liara and Kasumi weren't talking anymore.

Samed turned, raised an eyebrow, and asked, "Excuse me?"

"What? This old thing? Bah. The color green is standing out too much. And that skyline? Bleh. This was supposed to be a gallery on how beautiful Earth is, clearly this piece failed to capture that sentiment. It shouldn't even be at this exhibition."

Samed clenched his teeth."This piece was painted by my mother."

"Then your mother clearly should spend more time learning proper technique instead of—” The turian flailed his hand at the painting. “—whatever is going on here. Bah!"

Samed's blood felt like boiling. He tightened his fists. "Say. That. Again."

*******

"So yeah, Liara, out of nowhere, punched the guy and in all that commotion, Kasumi managed to steal it."

Samed stood with Liara by his side, and before Kaidan, who was pale-faced and wide-eyed as he listened to the story, his gaze alternating between him and the painting that they had carefully placed on the couch. 

Kaidan opened his mouth. "I—” He closed it. “No. You know what? Not gonna get into this now." He put his hands behind his head and started pacing around the room. Then he turned and asked Liara, "Wait. I've punched a turian before, how did you come out of that without your fingers broken?"

Liara smirked. "I may have used a small biotic field to reinforce my blow. Nothing too fancy. I did not want to disrupt Ms. Goto's heist, nor ruin any of the artworks there by accident."

"And hold on. Samed, why the hell was  _ your  _ mouth bloody when you came in?"

"Oh, I forgot to mention, Liara hit me afterwards, so we could blame that guy on throwing the first punch."

"And I did not use any biotic fields that second time!"

"Yeah." Samed moved his sore jaw left and right. "Liara's a surprisingly hard hitter."

"I may have attended some self defense classes during my stay on Illium," she proudly said.

Kaidan sighed, sat on one of the ottomans, and placed his head in his palms.

"I think now would be the best time for us to leave." Kasumi decloaked beside Liara. "What do you say, Ms. Shadowbroker?"

"Yes, I believe that would be wise."

"How about a drink? On me? Maybe we can talk shop?"

"After you."

Liara and Kasumi left. Only Samed now stood before Kaidan, and his stomach twisted in a knot at Kaidan's disappointed stare. The skycars outside and the crackle of the fireplace were the only ripple breaking the deafening silence between them.

"Kaidan?"

"I'm trying to wrap my head around one thing—you actually wanted to hit that guy. I don't think I've seen you that angry. Ever. Not even with that pirate that tried to kill us, Haliat. Hell, not even with Balak."

Samed lifted and moved the painting to the other end of the couch and sat opposite Kaidan. He took a deep breath. Exhaled. "I know. I shouldn't have acted like that. Should've taken a breath or something. But when he said those things, when he insulted  _ her? _ She died, and this is the only—"

He turned his gaze to the painting, and he could almost see Maama's disappointed face staring back. Not angry, disappointed. That was way worse. "She wouldn't want me to act like this."

"At least it wasn't you who punched the guy."

"It wasn't, but I was still furious. It wasn't logical. Nor right. I know that. Should’ve kept my cool." Samed exhaled a long, arduous sigh. "I should return this. She wouldn't want me stealing her work from museums. Or stealing anything, really."

Kaidan extended a hand from across the ottoman, which Samed took in his own. "I think I get it. If someone insulted my folks like that, I'd lose it too. Especially now, when my dad is possibly, uh. Yeah."

Samed squeezed Kaidan's hand and met a warm, loving gaze that made every muscle in his body relax, even if it was just for a little bit. "I guess I should call Liara about this."

"Yeah. She probably has some contacts or something. Help you do this smoothly, instead of, you know. Just barging in there unannounced."

Samed pulled up his omni-tool, and dialed Liara's number. 

"Then again," Kaidan continued, "You _are_ a Spectre. You probably could get away with it."

Samed quietly chuckled at Kaidan, when Liara's face showed up on his display. _ "Hello, Shepard. Is everything alright?" _

"Yeah. I just. I think I should return this. Can you look through your contacts for the safest way to do it?"

_ "I believe I can, yes. The question is, are you sure about this?" _

"Yeah," Samed sighed. "It's stealing. My mom wouldn't have wanted this."

_ "Then think of it as a gift from a friend,"  _ Kasumi's voice came through and Liara looked to her left.  _ "From me." _

"Thanks Kasumi, but it'll just be on my conscience."

_ "Eh, suit yourself, Shep." _

_ "I just sent out some feelers. I will contact you as soon as anything comes to light. Goodbye, Shepard." _

The call ended. Samed's gaze remained on that painting, on Maama's warm smile and nod in his mind's eye.

"So what's it about?" Kaidan asked, his voice whispery soft.

"It's called 'The Fisher's Companion'. That's a pier in Gaza City, where my mom's from."

Kaidan squinted as he read her signature. "Hadia Gazzawi?"

Samed nodded. "Though it's pronounced throatier. _Gh._ Ghazzawi. Sort of like the R in French."

"Ghazzawi?" He said it correctly and Samed smiled. "Hadia Ghazzawi. Well I'm no art expert or anything, but that's a nice painting." Kaidan chuckled and continued, “And I’m not saying that just to avoid getting beat up or anything.”

“Kaidan.” Samed let out an annoyed sigh.

Kaidan laughed back. “Relax. I’m just messing with ya."

Samed shook his head.

"So you got the name 'Shepard' from your dad then?"

"Ah." Samed scratched the back of his neck. "My, um, my name's actually not Shepard. It's Ghannam. Long story."

Kaidan raised a brow. "Samed Ghannam?" He pronounced everything correctly, making the corner of Samed's lips curve. "Why'd you change it?"

"Like I said, it's a long story. Started with administration getting my name wrong when I enlisted. Then the Blitz happened and I got famous and—yeah. Didn't want the family I have back on Earth, people I haven't even met, getting harassed by the press."

"Huh. Makes sense. Have you, uh. Heard from them since? Especially with the Reapers and everything?"

Samed shook his head no. "No one with the names I know of got on the Citadel. I'm just hoping they're doing alright on Earth."

Kaidan got up and sat next to him on the sofa. Samed leaned back and rested his head in the crook of his neck.

"Well once we're finished kicking some Reaper ass, what do you say we go there?" Kaidan pointed to the painting.

"I'd like that," Samed whispered. "I've been meaning to go there for years, but never got the chance. Actually. I don't know. Don't wanna bother them."

"You won't be bothering them. Bet they'll be excited to meet Samed Ghannam, the hero that defeated the Reapers."

A faint smile drew on Samed's lips. "Maybe."

Kaidan kissed him on the forehead. "And I'll be beside you, jazzing you up the entire time. Uh, if you want me there, of course."

"You know I do." Samed lifted his head and kissed Kaidan's stubbly cheek.

"Heh, great." Kaidan pressed him even closer.

Perhaps an hour passed, an hour spent dozing off in each other's arms, when Samed’s omni rang with a call from Liara. He straightened, his vision still blurry with sleep, and answered it. "Hey. Any news?"

_ "Hello, Shepard. I checked with my contacts, and it would seem the painting is technically yours." _

"Wait.” Samed blinked. “What?"

_ "Yes. I should have thought of this before, artists usually borrow their work to museums for a certain period of time, so legally it belongs to her. But since you are listed as her heir, that would mean all of her possessions are now yours, including that painting." _

Samed turned to Kaidan, who looked equally as baffled. "So. What now?"

_ "The paperwork still needs to be filed, but I can pull some strings and have that sorted out, if you want. It should not take more than a day. Or you can just return the painting to the museum. It would be counted as borrowed from its owner, namely you. I could provide you with a copy of the paperwork." _

Samed turned his gaze to the painting. Then back to Kaidan with a look that asked,  _ what should I do? _

Kaidan only shrugged, his lips thinned.

"I—" Samed looked at the fisherman and the cat one more time. Then back to Kaidan, and took a deep breath. "I still think I'll return it, Liara."

_ "Are you sure?" _

"Yeah. I'm sure. That museum needs it more now. She'd want to help any way she can, especially with her art."

_ "I—yes. I did not know her, but that sounds like a noble cause. I will come by tomorrow to pick it up. 'A well-meaning do-gooder' will return it to the museum." _

"Great. Make sure that 'well-meaning do-gooder' reminds people about the effort for Earth, too."

_ "Don't worry, Shep, I will!" _

Kasumi's voice. Samed chuckled. "It's a deal then. See you tomorrow!"

_ "See ya!" _ Kasumi said, followed by Liara's voice,  _ "Goodbye Shepard. Have a pleasant night." _

"You too." Samed's omni faded.

He looked over to Kaidan, a warm smile on his face as he rubbed the sleep from his eyes. "So. You have a painting now, huh?"

"Yeah." Samed faintly smiled at the fisherman and the cat overlooking the cream-colored vista, and Maama's approving nod in his mind's eye. "Guess so."


	7. Hey, we're (SAM)², and today we're in Anderson's kitchen...

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Because the hot tub scene just felt weird and awkward.

There was a proud grin on Sam's face as she stood in front of her newly won trophy sitting on the bookshelf, right next to the volus plushie Kaidan had won their first night there.

"So what do you feel like doing now?" Samed asked.

"I honestly don't know? I can still feel my brain melting from that last match, so something dumb and leisurely would be nice. Ooh, some food too!"

“Well I don’t know about dumb and leisurely, but Kaidan’s birthday’s coming up in a few days. Wanna help me plan a surprise party while he's not here?”

Sam scrunched her whole face together.  _ “So he’s a Libra. Now it all makes sense,” _ she whispered before shaking her head and continuing, “I may need something to eat first. Oh, and a spreadsheet. And a place where we could get party supplies.”

“Huh. Well, where do you feel like eating out?"

"I…" She sighed. "I actually don't feel like being around people right now. Maybe we could order in?"

"Or we could cook something, if you want.” Samed pointed to the kitchen and began to walk in that direction.

“Wait wait wait, you cook? Every soldier I’ve met couldn’t handle more than an omelette, and even that usually gets burned.” Sam propped herself up on one of the counters and began tapping her dangling feet together as Samed searched the fridge.

“Yeah, I cook. My mom was usually busy with lectures or road trips and stuff so me and my dad would usually close up shop around prayer time and then cook for the whole family, including my uncle.”

“Huh.”

“Well, there’s some chicken in the freezer. And some flatbread. I've been craving msakhan for days, maybe I could make that. Maybe even leave some for Kaidan when he comes back.”

“Hm. Does that have any allergens? Like curry powder or?”

Samed pursed his lips. Then opened up his omni with the recipe, grabbed a datapad, transferred it there and tossed it over to Sam. “Tell me if something here doesn’t work and I won’t put it in.”

“Well let’s see,” Sam drawled on the E. “Cross cinnamon off. Cloves are…eh, they’re fine. Actually, you know what? I think cinnamon’s the most problematic one here, the others should be fine. I might have to use your bathroom for an extended period of time afterwards, but this dish sounds really tasty.” Sam handed him back the datapad, which he set on the other counter to look at as he cooked. “Though, it said it’s supposed to bake for one to two hours? I don’t think I can wait that long, I’m starving.”

"It's always taken me an hour, tops. But." Samed pursed his lips again. "Maybe some kind of hors d'oeuvres?" He opened the fridge one more time. “There's tomatoes, some cucumbers, parsley—”

"Wait. What about yoghurt, do you happen to have that?”

"Uhhhh, yes. Low-fat.”

“I know what to make then.” Sam jumped down from the counter. “My mom taught me this easy-to-make side dish called raita? It should keep us from being too hungry while your thing cooks.” She pushed him aside and began taking things out of the fridge. “And the yoghurt should soften the, ummm, bathroom blow a bit. Pardon the language.”

Samed snorted.

Bass-heavy psychedelic rock hummed from the speakers as Samed chopped the onions and Sam peeled the cucumbers. Just as he put the whole thing into the oven, Sam was done with the raita; and he leaned on one counter as Sam sat on the one opposite him, her omni sprung with an empty spreadsheet on its display.

They planned the whole surprise birthday party down to the last detail, as well as the perfect gift for Kaidan; though Samed had had an idea about what to get him ever since Kaidan took that really cinematic-looking photo of him on their first night on the Strip.

After an hour, the msakhan was done, and Samed and Sam plopped down on the sofa with some BattleBots on TV.

But then Sam’s ‘Bathroom Blow’ came knocking. 

And so did Samed's beloved, on the front door that had not only a doorbell, but a whole camera setup, too. Not to mention it also had Kaidan authorized as one of the residents and he could easily unlock it himself, but that was beside the point. As soon as Samed opened the door, he stumbled in, Kaidan, the smell of beer and cigarette smoke trailing around him like his own personal toxic cloud.

"You made me fooooood?" He drawled as soon as he saw the covered plate on the counter, a charmingly stupid grin on his face. "Oh, you're the best. I love you soooo much!"

Samed smiled as Kaidan fumbled with the foil wrappers and then began devouring all of the food with glee. "I love you too."


	8. Hangover

A photo of two people was on Samed’s omni display as he sipped his morning’s—though more like late morning’s—coffee. He blinked the sleep from his eyes, and as the caffeine began to take its hold on his mind, the image became clearer: those two people were Jacob and Brynn, an engagement ring on Brynn’s finger.

He almost choked on his coffee. “My God.”

Kaidan lurched awake. “Anything wrong? Are we under attack?”

“He actually did it.” Samed shook his head with a big grin on his face. "The bastard did it."

“Who? What?” Kaidan asked before groaning and going back into the covers, probably hungover from all that drinking he'd done last night.

Samed closed his omni, and put his cup on the nightstand. He turned to the bundle of blankets that was Kaidan, uncovered him, and pressed a light, gentle kiss on his forehead. “You doing okay there, habibi?”

Kaidan groaned again and pulled the blanket back, covering Samed too. “I just need some time. And some coffee,” he said in the darkness.

“If you come with me, I can make you some.”

“Ugh. Okay.”

*******

Samed kept grinning as he alternated between watching the coffee pot in case the coffee started to rise and watching Kaidan being all cute with the blanket draped over his head, occasionally falling back asleep.

It wasn’t long before the coffee was done, and he poured it in a cup and brought it to Kaidan’s nose, which made him open his eyes and grab it like a cat reaching for its prey.

“Your old college buddies really pushed you past your limits last night, huh?”

Kaidan groaned. “Ziggy’s the drinker. I always forget that. Marty’s—” He blew off the steam, took the tiniest sip, and hummed. “Mmm. That's the stuff. I hope—" he winced for a moment and put a hand on his forehead, then took another, bigger sip. "I hope Marty’s doing alright. He’s supposed to be a lightweight too, but after his antics last night?" He shook his head. "Ziggy’s corrupted him. Poor guy." Kaidan sat for a while in silence, holding his cup, when his eyes went wide. “Hey, what was that thing you were looking at by the way? I think I saw Jacob there.”

“The picture? I met up with him a few days ago and he asked me for—you know that garden part under the Council chambers?”

Kaidan nodded.

“Well he asked me for access to that part. So I granted it.” Samed leaned on the counter and pulled up his omni-tool, then put the photo on display again. “Turns out he used it to propose to Brynn. He’s coming over for some drinks later tonight, celebrate his engagement.”

Kaidan just groaned.

“What’s wrong?”

“Ugh, don’t get me wrong, I’m happy for the guy, it’s just. I don’t think I can spend another night drinking. I’ve had enough to last me a whole month. Maybe three.”

_ Note to self, tell Sam about less alcohol at Kaidan’s party, _ Samed thought and patted Kaidan on his hungover head. “You don’t have to drink if you don’t want to, Kaidan.”

“Nah, people are gonna be there, the whole mood’s gonna call for it.”

“Tell you what.” Samed cupped his cheeks and lifted Kaidan’s face to meet his. “I’m not drinking tonight either. Okay?”

“You don’t—”

“O-kay?”

Kaidan sighed. “Fine.”

Samed smiled and pulled Kaidan's face in for a kiss. A kiss that made his morning coffee almost come back up—Kaidan's breath smelled like rotten eggs dipped in alcohol. But he pushed through. For love.


	9. Taken bi surprise

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tali realizes a few things about herself. Kaidan reminisces about when he was that clueless.

“Hey Tali. Samed isn’t here, he left with—”

“With Sam, I know. She told me to meet her here, but I suppose I got here a bit early. I'll come back later."

Tali turned to leave, but Kaidan gently grabbed her by the shoulder. "Hey. Why don't you wait here? Beats standing around outside."

"I don't know. I don't want to bother—"

"It's not a bother. Come on, I still have some leftover dextro soda we can crack open if you want."

"Well. I am pretty thirsty." Tali stepped inside and Kaidan closed the door behind her. "The Normandy has yet to restock on its dextro rations, and you have to go through three elevators just to get to the nearest store."

"Yeah, Samed mentioned something about that. Something about turian supply lines being jammed?"

Tali nodded. "I'm currently in contact with the Flot—with Rannoch. We should be getting some actual quarian rations soon. Keelah, the one thing I missed having back on the old Normandy was keleven paste. The turian version is good, but they never seem to get the spices right."

Kaidan pulled out two sodas from the fridge—and carefully read the labels on both bottles—before he handed Tali hers. "Here you go. One dextro soda. And a straw to go with it."

"Thanks, Kaidan."

Their bottles clinked against each other.

"So what are you and Sam up to?"

"Oh, it's a funny story. She was telling me about a quarian tea shop she really liked in the Wards. It turns out, the owner is one of my aunts on my father's side, Aunt Reeza. We made plans to visit the next time we had shore leave."

"That's nice. Great that you hit it off with Sam, too. She's a good sort."

Tali sighed. "She is." Kaidan raised a brow at how oddly wistful that sounded. "She was really helpful with coordinating accurate data feeds between the Normandy and the Flotilla. One time, she even came by the war room with dextro tea, which is how we ended up talking about my aunt's place."

"Wow. She made you dextro tea?"

"Yes! And then brought me one of those keleven pastes. Raan was running a fever, so it was up to me to coordinate the liveships. Which meant staying up all night. She brought everything I needed to the war room. That was really thoughtful of her." Tali began slurping her soda through her straw.

"Huh. Really thoughtful indeed." Kaidan took a sip of his own drink.

A bit  _ too _ thoughtful, maybe. And it sure sounded familiar, down to the part where one person cared a bit more than normal about the other working nights. All it was missing was another one teasing both of them about it, a small nostalgic chill passed through him at the thought of Ash.

"So yeah. She told me she would finish getting, er, whatever she needed to get done and we would meet here at exactly eighteen hundred."

Kaidan looked at the clock. Tali was early. A whole fifteen minutes early.

Like he was channeling his inner Ash, he set the bottle on the counter and dryly said, "Seems like you're a bit early for your, uh,  _ date _ , then."

Tali's eyes went wide behind her mask, and even though Kaidan couldn't see her face, he bet she was blushing up a storm under there.  _ Guess this is how Ash felt, huh?  _ He took another sip, just to hide the smirk on his lips.

"A, a date? You mean as friends or—Sam wouldn't—does she? I mean she was really nice and, and, she is really easy to talk to, and she—but she feels like my friends back on the Flotilla and that would mean I—ah, keelah. Forget I said anything."

"Tali. I only said that because I know Sam. She'd never make any moves unless the other one does. And that includes if someone was leading her on."

"I—now that you mentioned it… It hasn't occurred to me that she might be—or, well, I would—no. Never mind. She's going to be here in less than ten minutes, it isn't the time for this."

"Hey." Kaidan put a hand on Tali's shoulder. "Relax. It's just tea with Sam."

"It is  _ not _ just tea with Sam. Not after you told me this. Keelah. It feels like I'm talking to Ash."

Kaidan let out a bitter chuckle. "There's, uh, another reason why I brought this up. This whole thing with Sam? Kinda reminded me of me and Samed. And I was the clueless one there. Down to that first date of ours."

Tali hung her head. "So what should I do now?

"My advice? Forget everything I said. Enjoy your tea, talk about whatever you used to talk about."

"But. What if my friendship with Sam is ruined after this?"

"Nah. Even if you say no, I'm sure she won't be upset."

"I. That's just it.” Tali twiddled her thumbs. “I don't know if I want to say no."

Kaidan almost choked on his drink.

"But I don't want to use her when I don't even know what I want."

"Then tell her that. Be honest about it. She'll understand"

"What about you? What if you knew Shepard's intentions before going through with that date?"

"Heh. I spent a whole year thinking about that actually."

"And?"

"I would've done what I told you. Gone on the date, had a good time. And, uh. Might've realized some stuff about myself a lot earlier than I did."

Tali only sighed.

Kaidan looked at the clock. "Not a lot of time left before Sam shows up. You doing okay?"

"Other than feeling like I am boiling in my suit after realising that my new friend has a crush on me, among other things? Yes. I am totally just fine."

"Hey. Don't worry. I'm sure you'll relax and have a good time once you're there."

"I hope—" The door clicked open and Tali practically jumped. Then whisper-shouted, "If you tell anyone about this, I  _ will _ do my next combat diagnostic on Chatika with you as her target!"

"Hey! No need for that. Your secret's safe with me," Kaidan whispered back.

"You think anyone's here—oh!" Sam showed up jumpy, carrying a bunch of bags. "Hey! Tali! Kaidan! Together! What a surprise!"

"Oh yeah, Tali came looking for you so I invited her in."

"Oh, er, great!" she turned to the side. "You know, these bags sure are heavy!"

"One minute!" That was Samed's voice.

Kaidan stood up. "Hey, I can—"

"No! No. It's fine. Samed has it."

"Yep, I got it." His special guy showed up all sweaty and out of breath, but still with a smile on his face when their eyes met. "Hey."

"Hey yourself. What were you two up to?"

"Oh, just. Er. Shopping," Sam replied as Samed took the bags from her hands. "For…stuff, groceries! For, er, my folks, yes! But they couldn't fit everything in their place so we brought some stuff here. Hope it's no problem keeping them in the downstairs bathroom for a few days."

"Uh, sure? This place has three other bathrooms anyway."

"Great! Now, er, Tali! Right, we needed to have tea! At your aunt's place! Hope you didn't wait too long."

"It's fine. It gave me and Kaidan a chance to catch up."

"Great! Can you give me five minutes then, to freshen up?"

"It's okay. Go ahead."

"Thank you!" Sam ran upstairs while yelling, "You're the best!"

Tali sighed, again with that hint of wistfulness in her voice.

Kaidan only smiled. It was best not to say anything else. It was up to her and Sam now to figure everything out. And she was in a much better place than he was about, what, two-three years ago? He sighed at the thought, just as Samed walked into the kitchen. 

He hugged Tali first, and then creeped up behind Kaidan for a hug, kissing him on the cheek before resting his head on his shoulder. "So. You two had some drinks, huh?"

"Yeah. I gave Tali some of that dextro soda we had while she waited for Sam."

"Sorry we were late, Tali."

"It's okay. It was nice talking with Kaidan."

"Hey, whenever you feel like it, we can have another soda and just talk, okay?" Kaidan winked.

"I'd like that." Tali was definitely smiling under her helmet.

There was a rumble coming from upstairs, followed by an "Okay!" and Sam stumbled into the kitchen, this time with—smokey eyeshadow and dark lipstick? Oh this was definitely a date. "I'm here! I am here. Ready to head out?"

Tali nodded, then turned to him and Samed. "See you later, you two."

"See you later, Tali," Samed said.

"Have a great time, now!" Kaidan waved.

"We will!" Tali took one last look at him before continuing, "And thanks for having me over."

"Anytime."

Tali and Sam left, leaving only him and Samed in Anderson's huge apartment. And, with no other plans for the evening, for once.

"So." Samed kissed him on the cheek. "What do you wanna do now?"

"Well you have been kinda busy these past few days."  _ Probably something to do with my birthday,  _ Kaidan thought. "So why not just chill for a bit. Watch some TV, or, I don't know."

"Feeling homey, huh?"

"Yeah, a bit. Besides, it's nice to chill for a day or two before having a whole party in your apartment."

Samed went stiff.

"Don't worry, I'll still act surprised."

"Did. Did Tali?"

"Nah. You aren't exactly subtle, you know. Neither is Sam."

"Crap. I, um."

Kaidan pressed Samed's arms tighter around his waist, turned his head and whispered, "Hey. I appreciate it." Then chuckled, "And I'll act surprised. Promise. Besides, I don't know how you'll surprise me when we're practically living together. Looking forward to seeing you pull that off."

"Well, I may still have some tricks up my sleeve you don't know about."

"No doubt you do."

"And I think you're gonna like your gift."

"Oh, there's gifts too?"

"Uhhh, maybe?" Samed broke away from the hug. "I'm not saying anything more about this. You'll see in a few days."

Kaidan crossed his arms and leaned on one of the walls. "You're cute. Know that?"

"Nah." Samed leaned in for a kiss. "You're the cute one in this relationship." Then took off his shirt. "You turn on the TV, I'll just take a quick shower and be right over."

"Okay. Might as well make some popcorn too."

Samed leaned in for another kiss. "You're the best." Then ran off upstairs.

As the kernels began to pop and join the sound of shower water coming from upstairs, Kaidan's thoughts couldn't help but wander. 

_ "You liked me, even back then?" Samed asks, stars in those chocolate brown eyes of his. _

_ "Hard to explain, but yeah." Kaidan trails circles with his finger on Samed's chest, a slight heat in his cheeks. "I remember thinking you were really neat, and I constantly wanted to hang out, be around you somehow. You know. Standard crush things. Only, heh. I didn't connect the dots until much later. Sadly." _

_ "Well. We're together now, aren't we?" _

_ Kaidan moves his hand up to Samed's cheek. "Yeah. Finally.  _ And I'm not letting go," he whispered and smiled to himself.

"Hey. What do you wanna watch?" Samed creeped up behind him, the smell of vanilla-scented soap lingering on his skin as he wrapped his arms around him.

"Uh. Well. I didn't get to finish the last season of Wrestlemania when I was in the hospital. So, wanna watch that?"

Samed tightened his grip and punched yet another kiss on his cheek. "I'll go put it on."

"Hey, Samed?"

Samed turned, already halfway to the living room. With his messy hair, that adorable grin, his sweatpants and one of Kaidan's t-shirts—which he always stole—he never failed to overload the wires in Kaidan's heart. Who knew after so much time, after everything they've been through—

"I love you."

—that he'd feel so much at home with this one guy that stood there, a shy smile on his face.

"I know it's nothing new and all that, but," Kaidan continued. "I love you. A lot."

Samed walked over for a slow, savouring kiss. After which he whispered, "I love you a lot too," and smiled into his lips.


	10. The best

Samed nuzzled closer, Kaidan's hair gently tickling his nose, the faint, almost worn-out smell of citrus shampoo filling his senses. He stretched his legs as far as the bed allowed, then brushed them against Kaidan's, slowly cracking open his eyes. He drifted in and out of sleep before he finally mustered the strength to lift his head and check what the time was: 7:15. Bit later than his usual wakeup time. But then again, he did have a whole party the night before. He trailed his fingers on Kaidan's chest, going further and further down, an invitation for something _ more _ than just a wake-up call.

A honeyed chuckle was Kaidan's response. "You know everyone crashed here, right? These walls aren't exactly soundproof."

"Fair point." Samed moved his hand away, but after a long sleepy sigh coming from Kaidan, it was promptly put back. "Um?"

"Or, you know." Kaidan turned his head and arched his back, pressing against Samed. "We can be, uh,  _ discreet. _ What do you say, you up for it?" he asked, a hazy smile on his face.

"I think you already know the answer to that," Samed said with a smirk and brushed his lips on Kaidan's neck.

*******

A coffee in his hand, a plate of Vega’s scrambled eggs in front of him, Kaidan scrolled through the photos he'd taken with his new omni-camera—Samed's present for his birthday.

There was James’s desperate face after Liara and Kasumi had cleaned him out at poker, Garrus and Zaeed intensely focused on something near the front door, Grunt with his face all bloody red—luckily from stuffing his face with pomegranates this time, Wrex and EDI’s arms locked in an arm-wrestling match—a really  _ close  _ one at that. Kaidan was pretty sure EDI let Wrex win that one. That, or she didn’t feel like doing repairs on her arm afterwards.

Then there were the couples’ photos too: Garrus and Chloe leaning on the bar and talking, Tali and Sam’s awkward stares at each other—though he should forward that one to Sam and delete the local copy, just in case; Jacob and Brynn locked in a slow-dance near the end of the party, and finally: all the selfies Kaidan took of himself and his special guy.

Every single one of those he wanted to frame, keep somewhere—on his work desk, maybe. Well, his work desk was probably ash by now. His whole apartment complex, too. And Cal’s convenience store a block away. And the small pizza place around the corner he always ordered from when he was too lazy to cook. The neighbors from across the street with their two loud dogs.

He shook his head clear and drank his coffee. Last day on shore leave and the dread of going back was already creeping in. A bitter reminder that this was only temporary, that he was gonna have to go back to the damned war, instead of—his gaze drifted over to Samed, his laughter coming from the living room. Instead of being with his special guy. Living together, not having to worry day by day whether everything was gonna be okay. Waking up and every morning being like this one, staying in bed a bit longer, fooling around before sitting down for a nice breakfast.

_Get it together, Alenko._ _Focus on the here, now_. Because Samed was the here, now, too. A lot of his friends, as well. Everyone refreshed, ready to get back to it. Back to the fight. Hopefully end it soon, too. Because—he pulled up that last selfie of himself and Samed, their two smiling faces under the low light of the fireplace—when this war was over, he had a future to plan with his special guy.

He couldn’t wait.


End file.
